The rain is finaling drying up and the warmer weather has turned the hugel mound into a tomato jungle. Last week we made the decision to heavily prune all the suckers and many of the accompanying branches that were without fruit or flowers on the tomatos. There were several early crops (hardly a crop and …
Those beautiful vines are in full bloom right now and many of us love the sweet linger of the smell of honeysuckle. The vine has been used for years by herbalists as an anti-inflammatory for respiratory infections and even to treat bacterial infections internally as well as topically. Our family loves to simply sniff and …
You may be asking about the referential treatment of a Hawaiian chicken dish and a newly discovered permaculture technique- hugelkulture. The chicken dish really has nothing to do with anything, but we like to use it for emphasis when announcing some exciting news. The exciting news is our newly-planted hugel mound! Hügelkultur is a German …
We received great news the other week that our very own Wayne George passed the State Horticulture exam! Wayne has worked with Custom Gardens for over a year training under Alvin Norton (Custom Gardens’ Garden Care Foreman for over 20 years). Wayne is a Gloucester native who graduated from Gloucester High School in 2009 and …
Now that the ground hog has seen his shadow, we are gearing up for warmer weather and getting started on some fun landscape projects! During the Winter the CG family spends a lot of time reorganizing and looking for ways we can better care for our clients properties and train on new techniques and new …
Thanks to their fuzzy leaves, strong fragrance, or bitter taste, the following plants aren’t among deer’s favorite nibbles. Spring-blooming perennials Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) Shade-loving, fernlike plant with pendulous heart-shaped flowers; hardy to -35° F. Bluebell (Hyacinthoide hispanica) Bulb plant with small bell-shaped blue, white, or pink flower clusters; hardy to -25°F. Crocus (Crocus sp.) …
Summer is about to kick off and as we finish out Spring, we wanted give mention to some Williamsburg landscaping events that Custom Gardens will be attending and some other local events that you don’t want to miss! Yorktown Market Days Be sure to come on out every Saturday along the York River and enjoy …
Lawn care service calls abound these days and many clients need advice for caring for their lawn and what services we provide if you can’t go it alone! We thought this would be a great topic for our readers and hopefully you can get some great tips for improving the condition of your lawn, …
Local Landscaping Digs in Yorktown We like to send out a monthly eNewlsetter that highlights our current projects for folks considering different types of outdoor retreats to look at and draw inspiration from. The following landscaping project took place in Yorktown and involved very little major construction or financing to complete and wasn’t in our …
Have you ever wondered what defines a Landscape Architect? What differentiates a Landscape Architect from general contractors and when you would need to retain one? We sat down with our Landscape Architect, David Chewey and asked him when and why a homeowner should retain a Landscape Architect and what type of return on investment …